LDC = Least Developed Country… LDC most commonly means Least-Developed Country, referring to nations with low income and severe structural challenges, identified by the United Nations to receive special support.
A recent report listed these Solomon Islands as the 100th most corrupt Nation – out of abut 200 nations.
I was just explaining to an uninitiated friend that these Islands take some time to understand. Ive been tramping these beaches and raised-coral hill sides for 44 years, and I’m still figuring things out.
Thats why I am here… to work with my family business partners. I started our business sin 1987. These days we have over 100 employees. I feel constantly frustrated, delighted and maddened by the business. It do keep things interesting.
I was saying to a friend: I enjoy the scent of wood fires, rotting vegetation and excrement that fills the air. I like the varying skin and hair tones of the islanders. From blue-black to Scandinavian fair skin with blond hair. I luv the smiles on the faces that come so readily when you wave, smile, nod or otherwise catch a pedestrian’s attention.
A layer of dust covers most everything. The closer to town the thicker the dust is. The roads and walk ways and general “CBD” area of town is always clouded in a floating layer of fine, talcum like, dust. You can see it at times, hovering above the town like a living entity, a blanket of consciousness, holding everything down, together.
I am up on the ridges, above the roads and people that is the “Town”. Its not bad at all here… the dust… in fact it very nice here. The cool of the morning, the freshness of the air, the sound of the fauna… The sound of people starting their day… The feel of the day’s heat building, the humidity rising, the coming blistering equatorial sunlight hitting the roofs and causing the buildings to crackle n pop…
Monk’s story was a happy one. It just took a few years (quite a few years) for him to find his particular happiness… Born an orphan. His mother never took him “home” from the hospital. She gave him a name and designate he was Catholic. He spent his youth in the care of Catholic charities, foster homes, and the streets of New York.
He never had a family. He never had a mother.
At the age of 18 he came to Independence, Iowa for Christmas with a guy he had met, John O’loughlin, in Naval basic training. John was a friend of my sister’s and brought Monk over to meet the “Hemmers”.
Our’s was a loud, disheveled, confused, love filled home. Mom was a Master Sargent on steroids. Always yelling, always mad at someone, usually me.
I note here that I am the middle child of 9 natural born… Monk made it 10.
Monk adopted our family before the Hemmer’s officially adopted Monk. But, importantly, from that initial meeting Monk had found his home, and very importantly, his Mom.
My niece wrote this about Monk: “My family always argues about who is the favorite, what I’ll never forget is when Monk won this argument at Grandmas funeral when he said “I’m the favorite because they chose me.”
Monk’s was a troubled and adventurous life… a genius in many ways. He had worked on Nuclear Subs in the Navy during his 15 year career. Traveled the world a couple times over. I always looked up to him…
He was a master metal worker and welder. An abuser of about every and any substance known to mankind. For a decade or so in the 90s he lived homeless in New York. It wasn’t until 15 – 20 years ago he got himself sorted out, moved “home” and assisted the old folks as they aged.
But my Monk story goes back to when I was 14 or 15…
It is Christmas time. Monk is home on leave. He and I go out on the town… now Independence aint much of a town… We shoot pool in Junior’s Spot…
I’m a big kid and order “salty dogs” to drink thinking it makes me look older. Not the first time Ive gone bar-hopping… we shoot pool and hang out at Jr’s and Monk gets drunk. I’d learned that Monk is a sloppy drunk at best. Not mean or violent, just sloppy.
After Monk knocked a table loaded with glasses, over Junior threw us out of The Spot…
We stagger across the street to the Shamrock…
It is winter in Iowa. it’s subzero and blowing a prairie-gale.
Monk is too drunk to shoot pool so we sit at the bar and drink some more. Monk passes out on the bar. About closing time, Smitty, the owner of the Shamrock, wakes Monk and is kinda rough ejecting the two of us. Eventually we both stand outside, in the windy Iowa cold, at 2 in the morning.
We are standing on the Corner of 2nd St NE. We gotta walk across the bridge to 2nd St NW. Only 4 city blocks, but crossing the bridge was like wing walking in a blizzard…
Monk is drunk. We are facing into the wind. He wants to stop, is arguing like a good drink will… Ive got my arm Locked in his, half holding him up and half dragging him along. I remember it well…
When we reached the house I was spent, cold, drunk… I dumped Monk on the sofa in the front room and went to bed.
Early ,early ,early… The next morn my bedroom door busts oper and a very angry Mom is yelling at me…
Took a while for me to figure out she was mad at me, not because I’d been out drinking, but because Monk has “pissed his bed”, which just happened to be Mom’s new sofa…
She never, ever, ever forgave me for that (and a few other digressions), but Monk never got the “hell” for his pissing on her sofa, that I got.
It’s a lovely, clear morning here in QLD. Jacarandas are in bloom, giving the valley that feminine, soft, pleasing eye candy. Gotta luv QLD…
I am watching the world as its attempts to relearn expensive lessons. Every generation need to jump out of the tree, after being told “Dont do it, you will break your arm”…
I rationalise what I see by saying “its a sign of the times”…
But, perhaps, just maybe… I am a bit old fashioned. A bit “set in my ways” of seeing the world and viewing those around me… See, I am unapologetically the product of emigrants and the Great Depression. Emigrants in my past were basic serfs, peasants from Germany and Greece. Both sides of my blood lines left their homelands in search of “something better”. The left their homelands in order to survive.
My father’s people got out of Germany. We note that in the 1880s Germany was not a great place to be… In 1880, Germany was a newly unified empire undergoing rapid industrialization, economic growth, and significant internal migration, while also navigating political shifts and social tensions. The country adopted a uniform currency and a central bank, surpassed France in steel production, and implemented protective tariffs. Despite this progress, economic hardship in rural areas spurred large-scale emigration, and Chancellor Bismarck’s government sought to consolidate power by forming an alliance against the rise of social democracy.
My Mother’s people were refugees from the Ottoman Empire. By 1900 my grandfather and his brothers all emigrated to the US. They were fleeing wars and hunger and generally rough living conditions… The early 20th century finds Greece weak after many bankruptcies and the lost Greco-Turkish war of 1897.
I was raised believing hard work and thrifty habits were required to survive. Both sides of my lineage emigrated to something better. Once at their new home things got even worse… They ended up living in near starvation conditions during the Great Depression… The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty.
I was raised to depend on my ability to survive, to produce, be productive, be busy, be fruitful.
I was raised with a work ethic. A Work Ethic. I know, a very old fashioned attitude.
What has changed?
Folks now expect a “living wage”. Im still trying to figure that out. I do nothing, contribute nothing and expect to get a “living wage”. The world has changed…
I watch the world with a combination of mild amusement and severe shock. Drugs and drug abuse is promoted, financed by the state. Billions are spent “housing” illegal immigrants. Morbidly obese folks are complaining about not getting the government handouts/ food stamps. While they touch the screens of their thousand dollar phones. Children are not expected to be literate in the “ol fashioned” sense. Merit and ability no longer means much at all. Diversity is our strength… but who is tending the vegetable garden?
I may be missing something. Maybe sitting on my arse, stuffing toxic waste in my pie-hole, while watching MSNBC is the way to go? Maybe being a drugged out zombie, defecating in public, is better than being what I am… an aware, awake, hard working old fart.
Here is a list of attempted Communist “experiments”:
Historical Communist StatesUnion of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (1922–1991) – The first major communist state, encompassing Russia and 14 other republics. People’s Socialist Republic of Albania (1946–1991) – Ruled by the Party of Labour of Albania. People’s Republic of Angola (1975–1992) – Ruled by the MPLA in a Marxist-Leninist framework. People’s Republic of Benin (1975–1990) – Formerly Dahomey; adopted Marxism-Leninism. People’s Republic of Bulgaria (1946–1990) – Ruled by the Bulgarian Communist Party. Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1992) – Ruled by the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan. Federal Republic of Yugoslavia / Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1945–1992) – Ruled by the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (Titoist variant). Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1948–1989) – Ruled by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. People’s Republic of Kampuchea (Cambodia) (1979–1989) – Post-Khmer Rouge; ruled by a Vietnamese-backed communist party. Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia) (1975–1979) – Khmer Rouge regime under Pol Pot (extreme Maoist communism). People’s Republic of the Congo (1969–1992) – Ruled by the Congolese Party of Labour. Socialist Republic of Romania (1947–1989) – Ruled by the Romanian Communist Party. Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (as above, but often listed separately for its non-aligned status). German Democratic Republic (East Germany) (1949–1990) – Ruled by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1987–1991; earlier provisional from 1974) – Ruled by the Workers’ Party of Ethiopia. Hungarian People’s Republic (1949–1989) – Ruled by the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party. Mongolian People’s Republic (1924–1992) – Ruled by the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party. People’s Republic of Mozambique (1975–1990) – Ruled by FRELIMO in a Marxist-Leninist state. Polish People’s Republic (1947–1989) – Ruled by the Polish United Workers’ Party. Somali Democratic Republic (1969–1991) – Adopted scientific socialism under Siad Barre. Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen) (1967–1990) – Ruled by the Yemeni Socialist Party.
Here is a list of current Communist controlled countries:
People’s Republic of China (1949–present) – Ruled by the Communist Party of China. Republic of Cuba (1965–present) – Ruled by the Communist Party of Cuba (after the 1959 revolution). Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos) (1975–present) – Ruled by the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party. Socialist Republic of Vietnam (1976–present; North Vietnam from 1945) – Ruled by the Communist Party of Vietnam. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) (1948–present) – Ruled by the Workers’ Party of Korea (officially Juche ideology, but rooted in Marxism-Leninism).
So, we rewrap and rewrite an old tale, from a now forgotten moral lesson.
It may well be me… Aging sharpens one’s time-awareness.
Ruminations…
Is China flooding the world market with fentanyl in retribution to the “opium wars”?
The Opium Wars (1839–1842 & 1856–1860) The Opium Wars were two 19th-century conflicts between China (Qing Dynasty) and Western powers (primarily Britain, later joined by France and others). They were triggered by trade imbalances, opium smuggling, and clashes over sovereignty.
BackgroundTrade Imbalance: China exported tea, silk, and porcelain to Britain but imported little in return → Britain paid in silver, draining its reserves.
Opium as Solution: British merchants (via the East India Company) smuggled Indian-grown opium into China to reverse the trade deficit.
By the 1830s, millions of Chinese were addicted, and silver was flowing out of China.
A “Policy of Outrage” appears to be the norm any more.
Or, perhaps, it is a simple situation where “…we got no policy, so we’ll settle for outrage…”?
I hear the Chicken Littles out there… adopting a new OutRage as often as the wind blows. There is always and all ways “something” to be OutRaged over, to be OutRaged about, to be OutRaged because of…
In many sad, sad ways the State Of Affairs in the State of California offers a great example of the laundry list of grievances, a laundry list of priorities used and abused by those that have ZER0 policy… * Marine mammals cannot be kept in captivity. Free all whales! * Forest management, Land management in general is unneeded, unwanted and unnecessary. Fire-load management, general forest-management is bad. Save The Forests! * CA’s beaches, coastline, coastal-waters are beautiful and pristine and must be preserved… ban all offshore oil wells. Erect clean and green and beautiful WindTurbines! * And, while we’re at it, BAN all use of public coastal areas for recreational purposes. Public Recreation is BAD, Unfair, Privilege! * Business is Bad. Wealth creation is bad. Employers are bad. Tax and sanction and disincentivise all Businesses out of CA! * Agriculture is BAD! Animal Husbandry is BAD! Producing food is BAD! Farmers are LANDOWNERS! Land Owners are BAD! * Fossil Fuels are Bad! CO2 is bad, killing the planet. Price all CO2 emitting fuels out of the market. Tax all such producers out of existence. Save the Planet! Save the Future! * Roads, automobiles, personal transport is bad, even Evil! Replace private transport with Public Transport systems. Invest heavily in rail that goes nowhere and is never completed. Cease maintenance of public road ways. Ban automobiles NOT sanctioned by the Government. Personal Transport is BAD! * Personal Wealth is BAD, BAD, BAD! With so, so many needy folks living rough, living on the streets, it is unfair, unchristian, unDemocrat to allow some folks to own property, to live comfortably, while others suffer. Tax and levy and rate those with accumulated wealth into the streets. Everyone Can be Equal! * Education is BAD! UNFAIR! A sign of Privilege! Minimal Education is all we need, all we want. An Educated Electorate is not required! * Law and Order is bad. Defund the Police. Ban Guns!
You get the idea… Outrage is fuelling our politics. Outrage shall feed the Electorate. Outrage can keep the inept on office for a long, long time.
Instead of managing and forward planning for the Great State of CA, let’s see how little we can do and still survive.
No plans for the future required.
And soon we shall have a homogeneous, cooperative, compliant Electorate.
Proviso: I have enjoyed the great and glorious Golden State of California for much of my life. I have lived there, had a home there, once even thought of settling there.
Selective Outrage… nice sounding couple of words. Lets see what it means…
“Selective outrage refers to the tendency to express anger or indignation only when it suits one’s agenda, while ignoring similar or worse issues that don’t align with personal or ideological interests. It’s often tied to hypocrisy or bias, where people pick and choose what to be upset about based on convenience, group loyalty, or political gain.”
Yep, that about sums it up.
I sadly smile when I encounter selective outrage. I can offer two current examples…
a) TRUMP IS DESTROYING THE WHITE HOUE, THE PEOPLE’S HOUSE… I have evidence…
b) People of California! This is history in the making…
Also:
a) The Obama Record on Deportations: Deporter in Chief?
“Eighty-five percent of all removals and returns during fiscal year (FY) 2016 were of noncitizens who had recently crossed the U.S. border unlawfully. Of the remainder, who were removed from the U.S. interior, more than 90 percent had been convicted of what DHS defines as serious crimes. Border apprehensions and removals increased in FY 2016 compared to the prior year, DHS reported. In FY 2016, DHS carried out 530,250 apprehensions and 344,354 removals, compared to 462,388 apprehensions and 333,341 removals a year earlier. Despite the increase, these numbers were far lower than the peak of enforcement operations at the beginning of the Obama years, after he inherited a robust enforcement regime from his predecessors.”https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/obama-record-deportations-deporter-chief-or-not
b) Trump is doing his part too, but maybe not as good as Obama…
“The Trump administration has claimed that around 140,000 people had been deported as of April 2025, though some estimates put the number at roughly half that amount. On August 28, 2025, CNN reported that ICE alone has deported nearly 200,000 people in seven months since Trump returned to office.”
My discussion started because I wanted to understand what he was saying, meaning when he posted a meme that I found rather stoopid… ““To say that you are against antifa is to be for fascism”.
I did a quick bit of research on the words used in the meme and wrote a critique of what I found.
Well, foolish me! I thought I was being engaging, even maybe useful to add to the discussion he had started. I used his meme to educate myself as per the use of the words. Noting meanings in modern days do change with the fads and themes of the times…
My friend told me he did not intend to create discussion with his post. He posted, he said, because he found it humorous.
He chose to back out of the dialogue that followed.
A few “friends” of my friend (some known to me) chimed in, all attacking me for my heartless thoughts. I was told that ANTIFA is nonviolent.
Again… ANTIFA is nonviolent…
My only thought herein is this:
How in the hell can any one not see the violence on the streets in… Portland, Chicago, NYC… and more…
How can anyone deny the damage, destruction, cost, loss and more…
A couple lines I received: “I’ve only seen peaceful protestors against Trump.”, “Antifa does not mean violence and lawlessness.”, “according to news reports and what I saw in person at least in Boston, there was no violence. They were peaceful protests. “.
I cant see how anyone in this modern world can have their stuck heads into an echo chamber to not see, not know what is happening.
Unless of course it is ignorance by choice. Plus a good dose of TDS.
When I was a kid we did what we called “hotdogging” on our bicycles.
There was a sand-lot a few blocks away where we’d go and raise hell. The uneven ground suited some aerobatics, and if you did it right you could get real good air off of one particular “jump”. To nail that jump proved you were indeed a Hot Dog.
The ground there was covered in sand-burrs. The risk factor was huge. You get the jump wrong and you ended up in a sad place, covered in burrs.
When you got it wrong you weren’t a Hot Dog, you were a Wienie.
Wienie has become a word, for me, synonymous with “almost but no cigarillo”… A Wienie is a Hot Dog that failed.
The more I look and see and listen I find more and more Wienies than I do Hot Dogs.
Kinda’ sad. I grew up in a world of would-be Hot Dogs. Dare Devils. Risk takers. I do believe those days are gone, past, lost… unless of course you are part of my tribe. We still believe in raising Hot Dogs…
My ol bud Tony posted something on FB that caught my interest. This my reply….
Tony, You prompt me to respond with some facts (I know, those pesky things that get in the way of a good discussion) to help flesh this topic out…
You say:
“To say that you are against antifa is to be for fascism—a double negative is a positive.”
1) From: https://www.britannica.com/question/Where-does-the-word-fascism-come-from 2) The word fascism comes from the Latin fasces, which denotes a bundle of wooden rods that typically included a protruding axe blade. In ancient Rome, lictors (attendants to magistrates) would hold the fasces as a symbol of the penal power of their magistrate. 3) The original fascists were enforcers. They enforced the rules upon the population. The bundle of wooded “rods” were for beating people into submission. 4) Musolini’s message was clear when he chose the historic symbology of “obey or be beaten”. 5) From: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Antifa 6) Antifa, a broad and decentralized political movement comprising individuals and groups who believe that fascism continues to pose a unique threat to democratic and peaceful societies and must be combatted through extraordinary, radical, and, in some cases, violent and illegal means. 7) Highlighting from the above: “believe that fascism continues to pose a unique threat to democratic and peaceful societies” and “must be combatted through extraordinary, radical, and, in some cases, violent and illegal means.” 8) From: https://www.britannica.com/topic/anarchism/English-anarchist-thought 9) anarchism, cluster of doctrines and attitudes centred on the belief that government is both harmful and unnecessary. 10) From: https://www.britannica.com/topic/fascism/Common-characteristics-of-fascist-movements 11) What is a modern day fascist? There has been considerable disagreement among historians and political scientists about the nature of fascism. Some scholars, for example, regard it as a socially radical movement with ideological ties to the Jacobins of the French Revolution, whereas others see it as an extreme form of conservatism inspired by a 19th-century backlash against the ideals of the Enlightenment. Some find fascism deeply irrational, whereas others are impressed with the rationality with which it served the material interests of its supporters. Similarly, some attempt to explain fascist demonologies as the expression of irrationally misdirected anger and frustration, whereas others emphasize the rational ways in which these demonologies were used to perpetuate professional or class advantages. Finally, whereas some consider fascism to be motivated primarily by its aspirations—by a desire for cultural “regeneration” and the creation of a “new man”—others place greater weight on fascism’s “anxieties”—on its fear of a communist or socialist transformation of government and even of left-centrist electoral victories. 12) Discussion on this topic is interesting: One reason for these disagreements is that the two historical regimes that are today regarded as paradigmatically fascist—Mussolini’s Italy and Nazi Germany—were different in important respects. In Italy, for example, antisemitism was officially rejected before 1934, and it was not until 1938 that Mussolini enacted a series of antisemitic measures in order to solidify his new military alliance with Hitler. Another reason is the fascists’ well-known opportunism—i.e., their willingness to make changes in official party positions in order to win elections or consolidate power. Finally, scholars of fascism themselves bring to their studies different political and cultural attitudes, which often have a bearing on the importance they assign to one or another aspect of fascist ideology or practice. Secular liberals, for example, have stressed fascism’s religious roots; Roman Catholic and Protestant scholars have emphasized its secular origins; social conservatives have pointed to its “socialist” and “populist” aspects; and social liberals have noted its defense of “capitalism” and “elitism.”
Returning to your post:
“To say that you are against antifa is to be for fascism—a double negative is a positive.”
In this statement I hear you saying that being against antifa / the rioters (we see in the various city streets) conflicting with officers (from local, county, state and federal departments) is to be for the fascists.
Whom you are claim are the officers.
Antifascists = antifa.
Fascists = officers from local, county, state and federal departments.
Is this correct?
Perhaps, using our new facts, one can assume the people in the streets burning, looting, disrupting society, calling for death to Jews, perhaps we can understand that some folks view them as the fascists. The ones violently enforcing their wants, needs, desires on the general population.
Perhaps, using stuff I learned as a child, the uniformed officers, those duly appointed and trained to maintain the “public peace”, to enforce the rules are just the protectors of society.
Perhaps too, as a good anarchist or antifa faithful one would agree, there is nothing good in modern society and the USofA represents the biggest evil so anything is acceptable. Burn it all!
Do you believe… “believe that fascism continues to pose a unique threat to democratic and peaceful societies” and “must be combatted through extraordinary, radical, and, in some cases, violent and illegal means.”
If you do: You are saying you support the violence and lawlessness we are witnessing in many cities.
If I have this straight let me know.
I personally find it real, real hard to agree that societal violence is ever a positive. Ive seen what happens when society descends into anarchy/ lawlessness… It aint pretty…
It is a nice, cool morning in my little QLD valley. Storms raged around us last eve. Thunderstorms blew in from the coast and over the range. Mostly missing us, the morn is overcast but clear, the air is fresh, the slight breeze chilled.
I am ruminating today on the Derangement Syndrome I see in those near and dear…
I have written about this before. The sad, sad reality that folks cannot adjust to the fact that things are not going to hell. Not as they would like them to go. They want their predictions of negative outcomes to be real. They want the monster in the corner to materialise, so they can be proven right. That their wants and needs and foolish pride can “win”. This covers the great green scam that folks loose their marbles over. This covers the social change we see that sends folks to the streets to protest and riot. Each group is fighting for their wanted outcome. Each group wants to “win”.
But “win” what?
My age old mantra holds true… I am a centrist. My life’s experiences prove to me that the political venue is filled with Vipers. To enter into the viper filled pit that is politics, one must be a viper. Warm blooded beings do not survive in the Viper’s Pit.
I have no love, trust or faith in the world’s elected Elite.
Of course, El Prez, DJT, is a different “thing”. He is pretty unusual. And he is accomplishing much.
In my lifetime the “Middle East” solution has been begging for a champion.
The year I was born a solution was on the table… “In 1957, the primary “solution” in the Middle East was the U.S.-led Eisenhower Doctrine, which promised economic and military aid to countries threatened by communism. Concurrently, Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip and the Gulf of Aqaba following U.S. pressure, a move portrayed as a step toward regional peace and implemented through a United Nations Resolution that also deployed a UN peacekeeping force to ensure the armistice lines were maintained.”
It took 68 years for a guy to come along that could talk to the players on both sides, AND coerce and cajole the respective players into a positions of mutual compliance.
So why the mental distress? The emotional turmoil?
I believe the answer is simple…
The “noise” and opposition and angst we feel and see and hear is nothing more than the political venue’s futile attempt to get folks to “look over here”. My word for this act of deflection is “Prestidigitation”.
Today I watch as folks near and dear in the USofA gather for a “No Kings” rally.
Today I watch a folks near and dear here in Aus gather for a “March for Australia”.
Though very different, each of these social activities are similar and stem from the same “noise” that pervades, influences and dictates social actions/ reactions.
Both stem from the lack of positive leadership, and effective policy at the highest levels…
In the USofA, the 20th century political policy of dismantling and demeaning the US’s capacity to produce has led us to DJT.
In the Land of Aus, the 20th century political policy of dismantling and demeaning Australia’s capacity to produce has led us to a cross roads of serious importance.
The Land of Aus has dismantled and demeaned their industrial base to the point of possible no return. Everything in Aus has been turned a dirty green colour… The Land of Aus has dismantled and demeaned their industrial base to the point of possible no return. Everything in Aus has dismantled and confused so the richest energy-resource-rich country in the world pays more for consumer-electricity than a country that buys Aus resources to power their own land… “Over the last decade, Australia’s electricity prices have risen significantly, making them more expensive than Japan’s residential electricity rates. Japan’s residential electricity prices have historically been lower, though they have also increased, reaching a high of $0.330 USD/kWh in 2022. In contrast, Australia has experienced a rapid increase, with recent averages around 0.340.34 to 0.390.39 USD per kWh, surpassing Japan’s prices. “
So let’s see, Japan buys Australian coal and powers its land cheaper than Aus can power themselves, on their own resource.
In the USofA, the 20th century political policy of opening borders, allowing millions of folks into the country, into the economy, into the US has led to huge social and economic downturns, and has led us to DJT. And ICE raids, and conflict in the streets, and division and troops in the streets.
In the Land of Aus, the 20th century political policy of opening borders, importing millions of folks into the country, into the economy, into Australia has led to huge social and economic downturns, and has led to social, religious, political, and racial division, violence, and conflict in the streets.
Both countries I claim patriotic allegiance to are at a crossroad.
Is it too late for the USofA to regain the ground it has lost in its industrial capacity? Maybe not. but the past 25 years of degrading capacity will be hard to remediate. Some capacity still exists so, yes, there is a chance, still.
Is it too late for Australia to regain the ground it has lost in its industrial capacity? Its a close call.. The past 25 years of degrading capacity has left Aus with little to rebuild. Industrial capacity has been crippled for way too long. It has to be a complete makeover, infrastructure and skills, if Aus is to return to industrial production ever again.
Time will tell… as protests and street parties and riots entwine on our city streets.
Funny, how after CKirk’s murder, then the Middle East “peace” deal, we end in an almost exhausted state in the news stream.
In the USofA, DJT never sleeps.
We hearing smart voices, intelligent talking heads, like Tucker and Candance, from the edges. Guys like Rogan create their own “space”. All say something worth hearing.
We see the Burn and AOC talking nonsense while holding hands. The smiling Satan, Mama’sdumi is polished and slick, like Gruewson, and just as dangerous.
The aged Elite like Pelosi and Schumer try to maintain some momentum, but their age and infirmities show. Their time is running out. Thankfully.
Here in the Land of Aus, Albo has not been seen or heard from for days, a couple weeks. He is going to get reamed in DC.
Ms Wrong Wong is laying low, as her administration’s foundations crumble.
While saintly Bowen keeps dumping money into cronies pockets pretending he is saving the planet. And Burke imports even more faithful Labor voters, to save the ALP day.
And… Ms Pauline and Mr. Barnaby are joining forces. With any luck they shall be Australia’s solution to the damage done over these past many years by both L & R political parties.
The street parties/ riots I watch happening world wide, look like European soccer matches, the ones in the 80s. Where each game was a huge, violent “party”. The people who went to the International matches just for “fun”, not for the enjoyment of the game, were called “Hooligans”.
At those “events” folks wore their scarves and caps, their uniforms, identifying them as supporters of a their team. They’d prepare and plan for a violent encounter with their rivals. In 1985 we saw… “Thirty-nine spectators—mostly Italians and Juventus fans—were killed in the subsequent crush, while 600 more were injured.” It was a clash between the visiting Liverpool and the Juventus teams. A deadly clash.
It wasn’t about politics. It wasn’t about money, wealth, oil, rare earth, or religion.
It was about hooliganism.
It wasn’t about my soccer team vs your soccer team, or a bad Referee call, or anything pertaining to the sport.
It was about tribalism.
Participants would prepare to travel, to be violent, to cause trouble, to be vandals, to fight their tribal rivals. Who also prepared the same.
Today I am seeing a range of flavours, a range of different violent groups who do the same.
From ANTIFA, to BLM, to Free Palestine, to Anti-Trump, to Anti-ICE, to…
If indeed there are dark forces, malevolent entities, interacting with mankind, processing and controlling humans with evil intent, and maliciousness… There are clearly visible here in the Land of Aus…
I do reference the vile comments Lidia Thorpe recently made, BUT… I am specifically referencing Australia’s fearful leader, The right dishonourable Albo.
Where is he? What is he doing?
Is he hiding or being held captive by those evil, dark, malevolent forces?
I’m certain he is not… solving the housing crisis, fighting inflation, overseeing new infrastructure projects, managing the needs to returned service men and women, negotiating meaningful trade deals, planning for the future defence and security of the Nation, nor doing much at all meaningful or pertinent.
What dark forces are holding Super Albo bound? Refusing to allow him to use his might, intelligence, to experience to address, solve, remediate the numerous pressing matters on our Nation’s To-Do list.
Australia’s To-Do list is long, pressing, important.
Ive been working on a few new sticks. Spending time “whittling” is good for me. I quietly think through the happenings of the day, inventory my mental stores, set new targets, rehash ongoing dramas.
And, as an old fart with a very large tribe, there are many, many ongoing dramas to rehash every day.
My “thing” with this work is to create useful (very useful) tools out of waste wood.
The Acacia is a tree that went down a couple years ago here on the farm. I have a couple life times of Acacia pieces hanging, drying in a shed.
The hard wood comes from old fence posts, old split rails, massive pieces of almost petrified hard wood buried in the mud, exposed by the floods. I harvest (scavenge) the old stuff. Store it. Sweat my heart out to cut and size this stuff.
I like hand tools… spoke shave planes, rasps, checkering tools, chisels and various cutting tools all slowly whittle my sticks into shape.
The wood is so, so hard, dense. Almost iron like. My blades and bits do not last long on this stuff…
I have a couple big trees buried in the swamp I need to dig out. The place is drying out and I have a few really good prospects I want to get to work on…
The two sticks I’m working on dont have a home yet.
Been a while since I just made a stick. Normally I am behind schedule on getting sticks to old friends in need. I name all my sticks, normally aligning the name with the person. Thus far there has been Thug, Copper Head, Barb, Granny Glide, Peregrination, Little Bird, Le Doktor, and more.
All my sticks come tailor made for the person I am working for. Size, shape, weight can all be managed through design and material use.
All my sticks are weapons. I normally make either a knobkerrie (shileleh) style, or a standard T-handle style. I like using bone, brass and antler.
All my sticks are interesting composite creations that will last a couple life times…
PerigrinationBarb and Granny Glide
The finish product is always, in my mind, a work of art…
A career in the US Navy, a life time of substance abuse, by the age of 75 he’s reaching the end of his road. No wife or kids. He spent the past many years caring for our parents who lived into their 90s.
Emphysema, lots of motor-skill issues, more substance abuse… he has ceased being able to care for himself. He was taken to the ER, hospitalised. It was determined he could not go “home”. So the System went to work for him…
His military service, his years of private sector work, all made him eligible to go into care at no financial burden to the family. He spent a life time pre-paying, preparing for this. He gets to stay in the community where he lives. He has family close. He is not being isolated or forgotten. He keeps much of his freedom.
They even let him enjoy a cigarette, but he has to wheel himself across the street, “off campus”. The System is working.
And color me shocked, amazed, gob smacked… The System works. Damn!
This is the System(s) that we Citizens have paid for.
Paid for throughout all our working lives.
This is the System that the Liberal Left side of politics, our Social Democrats, has worked to dismantle. Worked hard to dilute.
The System(s) we Americans have invested in, paid for, supported throughout our working careers, are close to collapse.
I suggest that we, We Americans, fight to ensure the System(s) we have invested in all our lives, and expect to be available “when the time comes” are maintained, supported, funded.
Not dismantled by social working, do-gooder, left leaning socialist ideals. It is a worthy fight.
I have many reasons to be interested in what happens in the Pacific Islands. My sense of History tells me the Pacific is important. We saw in the 1940s how the pivot point in the WW2 pacific theatre was Solomon Islands. East to West, North to South the Pacific theatre was and remains strategically and economically important.
I moved to Solomon Islands 44years ago. Unknowingly, at the time, it was to become my home. I had a 2year contract, thought I’d be away for 2years, no more. But life leads us on circuitous adventures, thats for sure!
In the early 80s the USofA still had a good “name” in the Pacific. I traveled over those early years, visited most of the Pacific Island Nations, talked to folks wherever I went. The overall attitude towards the “West”, the old Colonial Powers, the US, England, France, et al was very positive. The memory of WW2 was still alive then.
As the memory of WW2 faded, the affinity, the friendship, the positive relationship between old allies faded as well.
When I arrived in the Solomons, the US Embassy was an important fixture in the Community. The biggest diplomatic delegation then was the British High Commission. The Yanks were 2nd largest, Aussies were there but smaller. Diplomatic events were regular and fun: The arrival of a Naval Vessel, Melbourne Cup, 4th of July, 7th July, ANZAC Day… All saw the Embassies and High Commission contribute to what would always be a good event, a fun social celebration.
Into the 1980s and the US Embassy pulled out, US Offices in PNG took over the Solomons. The Brits started downgrading, the Aussie’s started building.
By the 90s it was all changed… No US Consular Offices. Brits had a small office with few staff. The Aussies were building a new, big High Commission. They increased their staffing numbers. It was evident that Australia was claiming custodianship over the Solomons, over the Pacific.
The 90s saw Civil Wars spread through the Pacific Islands… PNG/ Bougainville, Solomons, Fiji all saw protracted, still ongoing, conflict and tension. From 2000 to current Australia has been involved in what is called “Peace Keeping” duties in the Solomons.
Was Moti illegally abducted and sent to Aus for trial? It’s a big, long story worth a fair bit of study. I was never a fan of Julian Moti, I thought him to be a sleaze, And I do believe the Aussie Authorities in Honiara at the time used strong arm (illegal) tactics to remove Moti and his family from the country.
That was all in 2011. The then Solomons Prime Minster took it all as a person insult. The Aussies never had a firm foothold after that.
By 2020 the PM and his Cabinet decided to cease recognition of Taiwan and support and court relations with China.
Five years later China holds hegemony.
In recent years the US and Aus have tried, through cheque book diplomacy, to bring the Pacific island nations back into the “western” fold. Yet, as recent events in PNG show us, Aus has lost influence.
I speak as a Solomon Islander…. Islanders are simple folks. Islanders have simple needs. Islanders respect strength. Islanders despise weakness.
I do not think Mr Albo has much of a chance to regain popularity and influence in the Pacific Theatre.
Seasons have shifted here in QLD. After a mild and wet winter we’re heading into summer, which is predicated to be wet. More wet. Still wet. It’s been wet for a couple years. I blame it on Glow Ball Warming…
My house if filled with noise, messes, dog turds and little kids… Its great! This morning we have 2 children, 3 puppies, 4 dogs, one mother, one grandmother and an old fart in residence.
I shall admit that I am rather amazed, surprised, sorta… the doubling down of the Albo regime on the Great Green Scam, as most of the world is waking up from the bad dream that is the green-scare.
Tim Flannery & Co. have managed to maintain their positions as acolytes to the great green scam, but for how much longer? If you don’t know who Tim is remember that: Tim Flannery has made several public predictions, notably forecasting an ice-free Arctic summer between 2010 and 2030 due to ongoing climate trends. He also warned in 2005 about Sydney’s extreme vulnerability to water deficits if the prevailing drought conditions continued. Additionally, he made the observation in 2007 that hotter soils during a drought were preventing rain from filling dams, a comment he made as Australia’s Chief Climate Commissioner.
So after a whole bunch of “the sky is falling” BS, and way too much wasted time, energy, money, resources and more… we are “Back On The Road Again”… here in the Land of Aus that is…
As the rest of the world is shaking off the mental illness that is Suicidal Climate Hysteria, Albo &Co. are doubling down.
They can do a bunch of damage in the time they have left.
The Native Iowan 
thoughts and opinions